The commercialisation firm will cut cash operating expenses by more than 40% year-on-year, while SciFluor Life and Precision Biopsy received $9m in financing between them.

Commercialisation firm Allied Minds intends to pare back its operating costs by more than 40% year-on-year as it braces itself for what the firm described as “challenging capital markets” ahead. Allied Mind’s headquarters cash operating expenses are expected to be $5.6m less than in 2018. The firm’s chief executive, Jill Smith, has agreed to reduce her cash salary for 24 months and defer the balance of her earnings until 2021. Allied Minds reported holding $50m in cash stocks at the end of December 2018, sufficient capital to sustain operations until 2021 without accounting for potential returns from its portfolio activities. Savings were made with the reduction of its backstop contribution to a $52m series B round for computer memory technology spinout Spin Memory, founded by Allied in partnership with New York University, as other backers provided most of the capital. Allied Minds will put up the balance of $2.5m, bringing the round to $54.5m, should further investment not be found. Spin Memory is one of three Allied portfolio businesses on course to generate revenue in 2019 together with geospatial data satellite developer HawkEye 360 and communications spectrum management company Federated Wireless, both based on Virginia Tech research. Allied Minds claimed “strong” movement in funding its portfolio. Highlights included an agreement with Woodford Investment Management to equally distribute $9m of convertible bridge financing, made up of $4m for drug discovery company SciFluor Life Sciences and $5m for optical biopsy technology developer Precision Biopsy. SciFluor is working on small molecule therapies for a range of indications, led by topical eye drop treatment SF0166 and partial-onset epilepsy suppressant SF0034. The company, which attracted $5m and $30m through Allied Minds-backed series A and B rounds in 2011 and 2015 respectively, will use the latest cash to complete a phase 2 study into its retinal drug. Meanwhile, Colorado spinout Precision Biopsy will put its $5m investment into the conclusion of a study into its targeted prostate biopsy system, dubbed Claricore. Precision Biopsy had previously secured $38.6m of series A capital, adding $5m from Woodford Investment Management in 2016 to a $33.6m Woodford-led initial close backed by Allied Minds the previous year.

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